The present invention relates to a system for ensuring that a replaceable ink container is properly installed into the correct mating receptacle of a printer.
A typical ink-jet printer has a pen mounted to a carriage which is moved back and forth over printing media, such as paper. The pen carries a print head. As the print head passes over appropriate locations on the printing media, a control system activates ink jets on the print head to eject, or jet, ink drops onto the printing surface and form desired images and characters.
Some ink-jet printers use stationary ink supplies that are mounted away from the carriage and that supply ink to a refillable ink reservoir built into the pen. The ink may be supplied from the supply container to the pen through a tube that extends between the pen and the container. Such supplies are termed xe2x80x9coff-axisxe2x80x9d.
Color ink-jet printers typically combine four ink colors (black, cyan, yellow and magenta) to create a multitude of colors on the printing media, and therefore typically include a replaceable supply container for each color used by the printer. A group of pens, each dedicated to a particular color, are mounted to the printer carriage. A separate ink delivery system for each color of ink is required.
Specifically, the entire path for one color of ink from its supply container to the pen and out the print head is dedicated for use by a single color of ink. Accordingly, a four-color ink-jet printer is configured to incorporate four discrete ink delivery systems, one for each color.
Other printing systems may use a larger number of separate supplies and printheads, either to improve the image quality or to apply substances below or on top of the ink to better preserve the image.
Some ink-jet printing systems also provide for different classes or families of ink for use with different models of printers or different applications. For example, a printer designed to provide a very high quality print output may use ink having chemical and physical properties that are unlike the inks used with less-costly printer designs or families.
Contaminating one color ink with another, such as by introducing an ink of one color into the ink delivery system of another color, can degrade the color print quality. Moreover, directing the ink of one family into the delivery system of another family can prove disastrous for a printer. For example, if two black inks from different families are mixed together as a result of replacing one supply with the other, the mixture could react to form a precipitate and clog the ink delivery system, resulting in failure of the printer.
It is generally not a problem keeping inks of different colors and different ink families separated in printers that make use of replaceable cartridges having an integrated printhead and ink storage container. Because the entire ink supply, printhead and ink conduit between the ink supply and printhead are replaced with the ink cartridge there is generally not a potential for inks of different colors or families to mix. In contrast, there is great opportunity for inks of different ink families or different ink colors to become intermixed in printers which make use of ink storage units that are replaceable separately from the printhead. Replacing the ink storage unit with an ink color or ink family that is different from the previous ink storage unit results in the mixing of ink from the replacement ink storage unit with ink remaining in the printhead and ink conduit from the previous ink storage unit. This intermixing of ink colors tends to produce unpredictable colors reducing the quality of output images, and can result in chemical interactions between the residual ink and replacement ink which can result in unpredictable performance of the printhead.
Previously, ink containers have included simple mechanical keys to prevent the installation of the wrong ink container into a printer. As the number of ink families continues to increase, the available permutations provided by these simple mechanical have been substantially exhausted.
There is therefore an ever present need for systems that insure that ink containers having the proper ink parameters are correctly inserted into an ink jet printer. These systems should insure that the ink container is properly aligned so that proper fluid interconnect is provided between the ink container and the printhead. These systems should be cost effective and easily manufactured.
Embodiments of the present invention comprise containers for consumable substances, such as ink, and the corresponding receiving stations, such as inkjet printers. The containers and receiving stations have mating keying features indicative of a characteristic of the consumable substance, such as the ink family. Embodiments of the mating features include protuberances with a T-shaped cross section, and corresponding T-shaped slots. Preferred embodiments of containers and receiving stations are disclosed having two keying features with four unique orientations per feature, for a total 16 key permutations.
Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention.